The recent technological advancements have made it inevitable to acquire a garage door opener. If your garage door doesn’t have an efficient opening system, here are some of the reasons that should encourage you to get one.
Mobile Connectivity
There are moments where you could be wondering to yourself if you actually closed the garage door or not. A modern garage door opener programmed with internet connectivity allows you to check the status of your door. It also makes it possible to operate your door from any location,as long as you have access to smartphone, laptop, tablet or computer.
Since 2014, garage door openers feature the so called MyQ technology which enables you to open or close the door from anywhere in the world as long as there is internet connectivity. This technology has also made it possible to receive text or email alerts to inform you if someone is trying to access your garage. With these functionalities, you can allow someone to access your garage even when you are miles away.
Backup Power
There are moments when you arrive home only to discover that you can’t access your garage because there the power is out. The modern door openers come with a battery backup to help you in those situations. Because garage doors have become front doors for many houses, it is important that this door becomes dependable and convenient to use. The battery backup helps in providing this convenience by ensuring that your home is accessible even if there is no power. Therefore, you can always enjoy smooth operation and guaranteed access to your garage at all times.
The legal framework requires one to have a manual backup of the operation of your garage door. This backup mostly comes in the form of a release mechanism that can deactivate the door opener. Once the opener has been deactivated, you can manually lift the door to open it. The battery backup for modern door openers eliminates the need for a release mechanism. With a battery backup for your garage door, you retain the ability to open and close it even where there is no electricity at home.
Enhanced Security
When you install a garage door, there is a high-tech numeric touch pad that helps you access your garage therefore primary tips and tricks about garage door safety must be taken in account. Burglars have somehow found an easy way of going past this pad to access any garage. However, the latest garage door openers come with a new feature that makes it possible to change the security codes every time you enter the garage.
This makes it hard for anyone to enter the garage and therefore, enhances the security of your garage. From 1993, garage door openers have been coming with 2 automatic reversal systems. The first system is mechanical while the second one is founded on photoelectric eyes. The mechanical system makes it possible for the door to reverse automatically once its descending edge touches a person or an object.
The photoelectric system works as two units which are installed on either side of the door. These units have an invisible beam of light which is usually sent across the door’s threshold. This beam should be continuous for the door to complete the descending action. If there is any break in the beam caused by a person or an object, the door will automatically reverse its direction. This is the kind of technology that is employed in most supermarkets.
The rolling code technology was initiated in 1996 and it has been used in garage door openers since then. This technology protects the operation of the door by eliminating the option of someone stealing the communication codes. With this safe and secure technique for garage door, every time you use the opener, the access codes are automatically changed. More than one billion codes are available and hence you won’t run out of new codes. This makes it hard for an intruder to steal your code and enter the garage.
Motion-Sensitive Lighting
Nowadays, most garage door openers come with a keypad that can be installed outside the garage. This keypad allows the owner to key in the access code in order to open the door. Even openers have fingerprint detection features to enable you to access the garage without any key. There are moments when you enter the garage and you are struggling to locate where the light switch is. The motion sensitive features that come with the garage door openers make it possible for the lights to automatically switch on once you enter the garage. This way, you don’t have to struggle to locate the switch. This feature also discourages thieves as their activities will be well illuminated.
Noise Reduction
A garage door noise doesn’t have to disrupt people’s peace whenever it is opened. The noise that comes with garage doors can be minimized by installing a garage door opener. Most openers are using a screw drive system or a belt drive system to make the door operation quieter. There is even a new chain drive system which helps in further reduction in the noise levels garage door. The typical chain drive system is basically a combination of steel cable and chain. Modern openers now have a rubber belt with metal fiber reinforcements, making garage doors much quieter.
These advancements make it possible to have a bedroom located over a garage. Another advancement that comes with modern openers is the use of the DC-motor. These motors improve the reliability of the opener as well as its quietness. DC motor systems usually start slowly, balance the middle speed level, and then slow down before stopping. This prevents the door from slamming during operation.
Saves energy
A garage door opener is energy efficient and it saves close to 75 percent of power when in standby mode. Most garage door openers come with a backup battery that enables convenient operation even when there is no power available. Because these units use a DC motor, it is possible to disconnect them from the power grid to save energy. You can even connect it to a solar panel if you are looking for alternative solutions to charge the battery. All you need is to install a control system between the battery and the solar panel. That way, you will be able to significantly cut down on your utility bill.